A magnificent reconstruction of Napoleon's life and legend, written by a distinguished Oxford scholar, is based on intimate documents – including the personal letters of Marie-Louise and the decoded diaries of Grand Marshal Bertrand, who accompanied Napoleon to his final exile on St. Helena. It has been hailed as the most important single-volume work in Napoleonic literature.
'The university lecturer in history at Oxford has approached the impossible; he has written a new life of one of the most written-about figures in modern history with freshness, vivacity, fine scholarship, and penetration.' – The Boston Guide
'Markham has achieved a startlingly vivid and coherent picture of Napoleon's career, of the social and intellectual influences that molded it, and of the men and forces that opposed it. It military events, the political movements, the personal intrigues-all appear, each in its proper place and perspective.' – Los Angeles Times
